Defiance Episode 1.13 Everything Is Broken

Today, Datak Tarr's fortune cookie reads, "Your election day will hold a big surprise.... in bed." And it's true, Stahma sees he's all wound up and tries to "relax" him by doing something she learned from Kenya. Surprise! Your wife's cheating on you. When the happy couple go to the polls, Kenya spots them and makes a sly comment to Datak, whence the reality of his cuckolding hits him full-force. You'll recall from a few episodes ago, when the torrid affair started, that Stahma warned Kenya that Datak would kill them both if he found out, but since Stahma played Kenya like a game of Tetris, she's past caring. Stahma, however, feels the heat of Datak's anger acutely and takes a moment in the voting booth to hyperventilate in private.

Tommy and Nolan probably aren't going to get around to voting today since they're busy looking for Irisa. They find her patched up by the likes of Rynn (I know, big surprise after the cliffhanger with the knife last episode). But she did it for Sukar, got that? Not because she has anything resembling a conscience or an evolving character. Don't get any fancy ideas. Sukar lies unconscious in the camp, occasionally twitching or involuntarily squeezing someone's hand, but he's not the Irath he used to be. Rynn decides not to kill Nolan or Tommy (also for Sukar?) and Nolan relates to Irisa what the Doc told him: there are two artifacts activated and bonded with her cells at this point, one that was implanted in her childhood captivity, and one that met its mate in her. Her visions are related to these sophisticated war machines in her body, and her fears of becoming the Devouring Mother and Destroyer are real, but up to her to choose what to do with.

That is, unless the E-Rep's version of Black Ops doesn't force her hand. A group of assassins roll into camp with Doc Yewll in tow - she tried to save her own hide back in town by pointing them in the right direction. We're mad and confused, too. What gives with Yewll these days? Anyway, the leader of the mercenaries is a dude named Black Jonah, even though he's obviously white, and he lines up the indigent Iraths and threatens to start shooting them them as a way to flush Irisa out of hiding. Dear, sweet, law-loving Tommy wound up in that line, and Irisa surrenders for his sake. Irisa is carted off to the custody of Colonel "I look like a sweet old murderous grandpa" Marsh.

Meanwhile, Datak Tarr won the election.

... SCREEEEECH! Was that a needle I heard scratching over the record as the jukebox grinds to a halt? Yes! The bad guy won! Don't give me any shades of gray, here, he's BAD. Anyway, it was an incredibly close race, coming down to a few hundred votes in favor of Mister Tarr, and the appropriate camps rejoice and despair. In the Despair camp, Kenya has the kind of sad, loving, appreciative chat with her big sister that can only mean she's going to die soon.

True to form, Kenya goes to meet Stahma in the woods. Stahma has arranged the meeting under the pretense of getting them both out of town so they don't get murdered by Datak, but Kenya's smart enough to not drink from the flask Stahma offers her and to bring a gun, which she uses to persuade Stahma to take her husband and leave forever. She is not smart enough, unfortunately, to wear gloves and avoid the poison on the outside of the flask Stahma hands her, and collapses on the forest floor (in Stahma's arms, so its sort of sweet).

Stahma returns home and reports to Datak that the deed is done, but finds the newly-minted mayor covered in blood. Colonel Marsh, whose forces moved into the gulanite mines way ahead of schedule, tipped his hand: there's something more than gulanite that he's after in those mines and was only using Datak to get there (As Marsh intimated to Yewll in Act I, there's a whole SHIP full of weapons somewhere down there). This blatant lack of respect drove Datak insane, and he killed Marsh. He and his family now have the might of the Earth Republic to contend with, rather than wield.

Doc Yewll is forced to strap Irisa down and remove the artifacts from her, but she whispers in Irisa's ear that she must unleash the fury of what's inside her. Irisa lets the silver tendrils lash out and stun her aggressors long enough for Nolan and a few friends to bust her out. They shoot their way to safety - almost. Jonah gets a clean shot on Nolan before a bullet fells him, too, and Nolan breathes his last. Irisa is torn with grief, but in this moment, Sukar appears, maybe to her alone, and guides her into the mines. Her younger self appears and tells her to BECOME - a word which she's totally tired of hearing - but if it will bring Nolan back, as Kid Irisa says it will, she's willing to try. A stone wall liquefies and allows her through, and as the artifacts - one gold, one silver - externalize from her body, she throws them into the abyss in front of her. They ignite into a galactic light show, and, whispering Nolan's name, Irisa dives in.

Nolan gasps back to life. He searches for Irisa, and as he climbs to a higher vantage point, he sees E-Rep tanks and troops rolling into the town he tried so hard to save, and taking it by force. And that's it, that's the end of the story. JUST KIDDING THERE'S A SECOND SEASON COMING IN JUNE 2014!!! YAY!!!!!!!